


The small of his back, it's only for me.

by Kei (strawberryjambouree)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 03:52:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryjambouree/pseuds/Kei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Excerpt:</p><p>Tsukishima spies something on Yamaguchi's torso. His shirt had ridden up a bit, exposing a freckled stomach and just below the swell of his ribcage is—</p><p>The blonde-haired boy nearly rips off Yamaguchi's shirt.</p><p>He yelps and tries to yank it back down, but it's no use. Tsukishima has seen it, the sickening bloom of a fresh bruise, purple and blue and black in the middle, reaching up to his chest and hugging tight to his heaving body as Yamaguchi panics and tries to throw his friend off of him. It doesn't work. Tsukishima's breathing hard through his nose and can't see quite clearly.</p><p>"Who did this to you?" he growls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The small of his back, it's only for me.

Yamaguchi's on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and humming quietly to himself. His feet dangle off the egde, not quite touching the floor, and kick lightly at the bedframe.

Tsukishima's draped on his swiveling chair, slowly rocking back and forth, back and forth, discretely sneaking glances at the freckled boy every few swings.

He's not quite as secretive as he thinks, however, because Yamaguchi suddenly raises himself onto his elbows and says, "Tsukki, stop staring at me."

"I'm not staring," Tsukishima says automatically. He resolutely begins drumming a pencil on his thigh, a nervous tick Yamaguchi knows well and notices, but doesn't comment on. He flops back on the bed, but doesn't continue humming.

It's a little too quiet.

It's been a little too quiet all evening.

Yamaguchi had been a little too quiet all day, really. His usually chipper greeting of "Good morning, Tsukki!" was replaced by a muttered "Hey," and his crooked-toothed grin had slid away sometime early in the morning. The only remotely positive emotion that Tsukishima had seen on Yamaguchi all day was the blank concentration he wore as he took his English notes. The rest of the day found him preoccupied and biting his lip, a nervous tick Tsukishima knows well and noticed, but hadn't commented on.

He takes a deep breath now.

"Yamaguchi."

He huffs through his nose, long and drawn-out. "Yes, Tsukki?"

"What's up?"

"What do you mean?

"Somethings bothering you." Tsukishima swivels to face him now. "I want to know what it is." He can see Yamaguchi biting his lip, can practically hear his brain whirring, trying to come up with some excuse.

"There isn't anything bothering me, Tsukki. I'm just tired."

"I don't like it when you lie to me, Tadashi."

Yamaguchi's restless feet still. He chews on his lip furiously.

Tsukishima drags himself off the chair and slumps on his stomach next to his friend, pulling his bottom lip out from between his teeth with the pad of his thumb. "You're going to make yourself bleed," he says gently. He is prepared for a "Sorry, Tsukki," is prepared for a small look of guilt, is prepared for Yamaguchi to simply resume his bad habit in a minute.

He's woefully unprepared for that _look_ on Yamaguchi's face— not normal guilty, but incredibly guilty, turning bright red and also looking fairly confused. He looks utterly ashamed of himself, and is warm with embarrassment. He won't look Tsukishima in the eye. He's scared, Tsukishima realizes with a jolt—he's near terrified. He's begun to shake.

Something is clearly not right.

Tsukishima spies something on Yamaguchi's torso. His shirt had ridden up a bit, exposing a freckled stomach and just below the swell of his ribcage is—

The blonde-haired boy nearly rips off Yamaguchi's shirt.

He yelps and tries to yank it back down, but it's no use. Tsukishima has seen it, the sickening bloom of a fresh bruise, purple and blue and black in the middle, reaching up to his chest and hugging tight to his heaving body as Yamaguchi panics and tries to throw his friend off of him. It doesn't work. Tsukishima's breathing hard through his nose and can't see quite clearly.

"Who did this to you?" he growls.

Yamaguchi lets out a whine, eyes wide. "N-no one..."

Tsukishima nearly snarls at him. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Tadashi, who. Did. This?"

"I..." Yamaguchi manages to wrestle his shirt back down, but Tsukishima's still hovering over him, making it hard to calm down. "I don't know who they were. They... there's a rumour going around about me. They... they must have heard it. They waited until you weren't there. And then they beat me up."

"They _beat you up_?!" And off goes Yamaguchi's shirt, and he yelps again as he's dragged up and falls back down with a hiss of pain, but it's only a second before he's flipped onto his stomach and his shame is on full display to the one person he didn't want to show it to.

His entire back is discoloured. It's utterly disgusting, the mix of pasty yellow-green and tauntingly, dark purple, screaming " _PAIN, PAIN, PAIN! AND YOU COULDN'T DO A SINGLE THING ABOUT IT!_ "

Tsukishima fights the urge to retch.

Instead, he reaches out with one trembling finger and slides it so, so carefully down Yamaguchi's spine, ghosting over every vertebrae and stopping at the small of his back, and Yamaguchi is a whimpering mess underneath him.

"What's the rumour?" he whispers raspily, not sure he wants to know.

"That I'm gay and only follow you around because I want you to fuck me."

Tsukishima has trouble breathing for a moment. It's not what Yamaguchi said, more of how he said it— so dull, as if he were reciting the times tables, "Two times two is four," like it's a fact that's been drilled into his head every day for years.

He wonders how far from the mark that analogy really is.

"Well, even if that were true—"

"It is true."

Now Tsukishima _really can't breathe_ , not with his best friend looking so broken and dead, betrayed only by the steady flow of tears from his closed eyes. He can feel Yamaguchi's breathing beneath his palm— he realizes it's still resting in the dip of his spine but doesn't move it, doesn't feel like he could if he wanted to.

"It's not _all_ true," Yamaguchi amends quickly. "I don't follow you around just for... just because I want to get fucked by you. You're my best friend for a reason, and that's not it. But..." He hiccups. "I am gay, a-and I do like you, and I am really really attracted to you, and I definitly wouldn't say no to sex, and I told a classmate all of that because she asked me about it, privately. I thought she was a good person. I thought maybe she was struggling with the same things I was. I didn't think she would spread it a-around the wh-whole entire sch-school..."

Tsukishima takes a moment to absorb all of this, absentmindedly rubbing Yamaguchi's back with his palm in slow circles.

"This is a bit overwhelming," he says carefully. "But I'm not disgusted by you. Never have been, never will be."

It's evident that Yamaguchi was extremely worried about this. His body deflates of tension and his shoulders sag away from his face, where he had pulled them tight. Tsukishima reaches up to rub circles into those instead, and Yamaguchi relaxes but stares at his friend with obvious hesitancy.

"We're going to report this. There's no way those fuckers are going to get away with this." He rubs away Yamaguchi's sudden inhale. "I'll be with you. It'll be okay. I won't beat anyone up, but I'm not going to just sit back now that I know, alright?"

Yamaguchi nods silently.

"As for how you feel about me. Um. Well." Tsukishima can feel the flush creeping up his neck. "I don't know about the whole having sex part, but uh..." _Oh, man up, you big idiot,_ he scolds himself. "If you wanted to date, I would be okay with that."

Yamaguchi sits up so fast he almost ends up crushing Tsukishima's hand. "Are you serious? You're not just saying that because—?"

"No!" Tsukishima interrupts vehemently. "I'm saying it because I like you too!" The blush has curled around his cheekbones and ears, but he doesn't care, he can't care, because Yamaguchi's got the most blinding grin he's ever seen plastered all over his face, and all he wants to do is kiss it.

So he does.

It's very gentle, just a peck, really, but Yamaguchi pulls back with a conflicted look set deep in his eyes— a bright, burning joy and a syrupy blackness of fear, swirling together. "You're sure?" he whispers. "I'm going to want to keep it a secret, at least for now."

"Of course, whatever you need, it doesn't matter how long it takes." Tsukishima is impatient, now that he has a taste of Yamaguchi's lips, he wants more. "I'll stay with you."

Yamaguchi tugs him back down and the kiss is slow, and their bodies are pressed together uncomfortably close, but neither really care.

"I'll go wherever you go, Tadashi," Tsukishima exhales against his lips, echoing back the words Yamaguchi had said to him so long ago.

Yamaguchi grins. "You're such a sap, Tsukki."

"Only for you," he rumbles.

"Only for me," Yamaguchi hums back.

 

* * *

 

 

"So how are you and Tsukishima-kun, hm? Gotten to third base yet?"

"S-Suga-san!" Yamaguchi blushes violently.

"Hey," Tsukishima glares at the phone in Yamaguchi's hand. "Don't harrass my boyfriend."

"Tsukkiiiii!" Yamaguchi hides his face and Tsukishima can hear Suga laughing.

"Oh, Tsukishima-kun, I can almost _hear_ that scary look on your face. So? Have you?"

"Have I what?"

"I thought you had a much longer attention span that that, Tsukishima-kun. I asked, have you gotten to third base yet?"

"No, but at least I had enough guts to date the _teammate_ I had a crush on when I was still in _high school_."

"Th-that's neither here nor there!" Suga's voice is a half-pitch higher. "And in any case, Daichi wouldn't—"

"I never said it was Daichi," Tsukishima interrupts smoothly.

Yamaguchi observes in disbelief. Suga's breathing sounds suddenly strangled. "Ah— oh, look at the time! I'm going to be late to class!" He mutters something that sounds like "These kids, I swear, they know me too well, using my techniques against me and everything," and hangs up.

Yamaguchi peeks up at his boyfriend, standing beside him in his kitchen, eating strawberry shortcake straight out of the box on the countertop. Tsukishima grins, and then they both burst into laughter.

"I'm only giving them one more month before I stage some sort of intervention, I swear," Yamaguchi wipes tears from his eyes, still breathlessly giggling. "What a pair of dorks."

"You're one to talk," Tsukishima snorts, finishing off his cake and circling around the counter to pull Yamaguchi close.

"Shut up, Tsukki," Yamaguchi grumbles, but flings his arms around his boyfriend's waist anyway. "We both know you're the bigger dork here."

Tsukishima rubs his palm in circles against the small of Yamaguchi's back. "Yeah, but I'm _your_ dork."

"Sap."

"Only for you."

Yamaguchi hums contentedly. "Only for me."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I used to not like Tsukishima very much, but he grew on me. He needs someone like Yamaguchi to balance him out, and I think that when they are alone, they are both complete saps.


End file.
